Jail for banker who stole from the dead

A man has been jailed after he stole more than £600,000 from dead, elderly and ill customers to fund his online gambling addiction.

James Leonard Finnigan, 42, from Twickenham, Middlesex was handed a four-year jail term at the Old Bailey on Friday (15 July 2011) having previously pleaded guilty to the fraud.

His crime was brought to an end after a City of London Police investigation. DS Ben Flannaghan, who led the investigation, said: "It may be cliched to describe a criminal as heartless, but in this instance it is difficult to think of a more apt description.

“James Finnigan appeared to target customers who were elderly in the hope of avoiding detection, in some cases going as far as taking money from accounts when customers had recently died.

“There can be no justifications for his actions, and his sentence reflects that."

Also jailed on Friday, following a separate investigation by City of London Police officers, was Magnus Nwankwo.

Nwankwo, also known as Magnus James, operated a small-scale British-based ‘boiler room’ – establishing businesses that appeared legitimate, before specifically targeting an elderly man for investment.

The 41-year-old, from Harrow, was sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment at the Old Bailey having previously pleaded guilty to the fraud.

Friday also saw bank employee Wesley Gabriel jailed after another City of London Police investigation.

Gabriel received information on bank accounts from a known fraudster, accessed those accounts at his place of work and then passed on personal information about the account holders.

The 31-year-old, from Ealing, London was given a nine-month prison sentence at the Old Bailey, having pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of a position of trust.